Fourth-year students at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota learned where they will continue their residency training on March 17. Also, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education learned who would be its incoming Mayo residents through the National Resident Matching Program. The medical students opened their envelopes at 11 a.m. CDT discovering their future specialties and residency training locations. 

Match Day, held on the third Friday in March, is when medical school students and graduates from the U.S. and around the world learn which U.S. residency program they will train at for the next three to seven years. When residency is completed and all boards have been passed, a physician can practice independently. 

Watch: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine students open their envelopes

Journalists: Broadcast-quality b-roll video from Arizona, Florida and Minnesota along with soundbites from each of the students in the story can be found in the downloads at the bottom of the post. Please “Courtesy: Mayo Clinic News Network.” 

“Match Day starts the next chapter of our lives, it’s the height of excitement. In some ways, it feels more significant than attending commencement. I really appreciate that our Deans and the medical school work closely with us to prepare for the match process. My experience has provided me with knowledge and skills that have prepared me for wherever I go.”  

“Many may argue that Match Day is the most important day in medical school. It can be extremely intimidating given that securing a residency position is vital for our future careers, for which we have worked so hard up to this point. The unconditional support I have received from the school administration, faculty and fellow medical students, has perhaps played the largest role in my success in medical school.” 

“Match represents the transition from being purely a learner to being an active purveyor of health. As a resident, you finally get your chance to steer the ship. The prospect is both exhilarating and terrifying. Attending Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine has been a blessing. I feel prepared to leave medical school and begin residency because my education has given me experience in many different specialties, having learned from world-class physicians.” 

“I think the real joy in it is the fact that we get to do this as a career. Once you open the envelope, you know where you’re going to go to practice medicine, which is such a unique privilege. I think it’s a gift to get to think about where you get to go next and start thinking about the patient population that you’re going to serve.”

Match Day is important to Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, as it trains future physicians at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and is a destination for incoming resident trainees as well, offering residency positions across Mayo Clinic.  

This year 64 of the school’s programs in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota participated in the National Resident Matching Program and offered 343 residency positions. 

Students can graduate from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine or another qualifying institution, complete their specialty and subspecialty training at Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, and continue their professional medical career as members of the Mayo Clinic staff. Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education is critically important to Mayo Clinic’s future, as the school has trained 60% of Mayo’s current physicians. 

Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science is boldly transforming biomedical education. It is one of the largest postgraduate medical education systems in North America, with more than 325 residency and fellowship programs hosting over 1,900 trainees, and educating more than 4,000 students annually in four schools: 

• Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine 
• Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 
• Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education 
• Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences 

In addition, Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development provides continuing education courses for medical professionals across the globe. 

Whether a participant matches at Mayo Clinic or other U.S. residency programs Match Day symbolizes the beginning of the students’ and graduates’ medical careers.